VFW seeks histories of Taftville war dead

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2212 wants to honor Taftville men who died overseas in wars from World War I to Vietnam, and hopes families and descendants can help.

MICHAEL GANNON

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2212 wants to honor Taftville men who died overseas in wars from World War I to Vietnam, and hopes families and descendants can help.

The post hopes to obtain more information on 21 veterans.

Dennis Baptiste, vice commander of the post, said he’s ready to turn to friends and families of the men for help.

“I’ve gotten a lot of information on these men from Otis Library, but I’m about to hit a dead end,” he said.

Baptiste hopes the publicity will get the same results as when members reached out to the public for information about Frederick J. Sullivan, the World War I sailor for whom their post is named.

“We were at that same dead end when I heard from members of his family,” he said. “They filled in the middle information on his life.”

Ideally, Baptiste would like to get photographs of the men and display them in their main hall. Information also may be used to craft future Memorial Day ceremonies.

“We may come up with some Taftville guys with interesting stories,” Baptiste said. “But one of those men died in Iwo Jima. One died on Saipan. One died in a prisoner of war camp in the Philippines. Two died on submarines. There is a lot of sacrifice in this group.”

Baptiste said anyone with information on the Taftville veterans is asked to call (860) 887-9795.

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